There is little doubt that the SEC is bringing more cases in an administrative forum. While the agency has not acknowledge the trend, over the last several months it has filed a series of insider trading cases as...more

On January 28, 2015, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan entered a final judgment against Gary Burtka, the former mayor of Allen Park, Michigan, upholding the Security and Exchange Commission...more

The SEC settled another action this week based on admissions of fact and that the Federal securities laws were filed, this time involving Oppenheimer. The action was based on the fact that the firm permitted an off-shore and...more

The trend of selecting administrative proceedings rather than Federal court by the SEC appears to be continuing. Since last September, for example, the SEC has filed at least seven insider trading cases as administrative...more

Four insurance companies sued the California Department of Insurance, claiming the agency has become "increasingly aggressive" in its efforts to enforce the state's Unfair Insurance Practices Act....more

The Commission filed settled administrative proceedings against an investment adviser and its co-founder based on a claimed breach of fiduciary duty. The Order alleged violations based on negligence, citing Securities Act...more

Traditionally, the SEC has brought insider trading cases as civil injunctive actions. The recent emphasis on administrative proceedings, however, appears to be changing that. Earlier this week the agency brought an insider...more

On June 4, 2014, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a widely publicized 2011 decision by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, which rejected a settlement between the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more

The City of Bell (“City”) sued Robert Rizzo (“Rizzo”), its former chief administrative officer, for restitution after he allegedly looted the City’s coffers. Rizzo, who also faced criminal charges, asserted that the City was...more

A presentation for the American Conference Institute's 12th National Forum on Residential Mortgage Litigation & Regulatory Enforcement examining increased scrutiny by government regulators of third party vendor management...more

Sometimes employers can’t see the forest from the trees. This is often the case when it comes to the work environment, including workplace policies, and their impact on employee productivity and retention.
In the rush to...more

A recent decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a nurse’s claim for unpaid wages attributed to working during unpaid meal breaks, did not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). White v. Baptist...more

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has been active in recent years pursuing companies that suffer data security breaches and arguably failed to live up to the data security standards promised in their privacy policies....more

Software and technology licensing fees are often tied to the number of users or devices that access an application or database. More users, or more devices, will often mean higher licensing fees.
The terms and conditions...more

In the quest to compete and survive, small businesses should embrace all opportunities for revenue growth available to them. One of the largest potential customers in the world is the US Government. Small businesses have a...more

Most employment agreements in California are for at-will employment. This means that the employer can terminate the employee at any time, with or without cause, so long as termination is not for a reason otherwise unlawful...more

A recent decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a nurse’s claim for unpaid wages attributed to working during unpaid meal breaks, did not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). White v. Baptist...more

A recent article on the Practical Law website, identified major horizon issues for General Counsel. We highlight a selected sample of these issues by subject area below:
Commercial: Green Guides
The FTC issues revised...more

Over the past several months, plaintiffs' lawyers have stepped up attacks on executive compensation disclosures in proxy statements. Although to date most of these attacks have been unsuccessful, the number of case filings is...more

California takes citizen privacy rights seriously.
That’s the unmistakable message communicated by a recent announcement that the Office of the Attorney General of California is creating a Privacy Enforcement and...more

Over two years ago, Congress enacted Section 951 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires public companies to conduct an advisory shareholder vote on the company’s executive compensation plan – the so-called “say-on-pay vote.”...more

"The Art of the New War - A Guide to Handling CFPB Examinations, Investigations, and Enforcement Actions" is practical guidance for institutions governed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on how to handle...more

Life insurance companies in Ohio have no affirmative duty to search the Social Security Death Master File (DMF) or otherwise seek out information on possible deaths, the Ohio Court of Appeals has held in Andrews v. Nationwide...more